electricity

Officials across coal-rich states are cheering an announcement that the Environmental Protection Agency will withdraw the Clean Power Plan. Now, attention turns to how the nation will address greenhouse gas emissions going forward.

The rule put in place by the Obama administration would have required North Dakota to reduce its carbon emissions 45 percent by 2030. The state’s coal industry worried this would force utilities to shut down some coal-fired power plants and, subsequently, the coal mines that feed lignite to these facilities.

Facing competition from renewables and cheap natural gas, coal-fired power plants are learning they must adjust to survive.

For decades, many coal plants burned coal as fast as their facilities could handle.

"The best way they operate is you turn them on, you run them up as high as you can, and you let them run for days," said Dale Niezwaag, vice president of government relations for Basin Electric Power Cooperative.

Governor Jack Dalrymple says the future still looks good for oil development in western North Dakota – despite the low price for oil.

Dalrymple says 68 rigs are now drilling in the Bakken – and while that’s quite a bit lower than the record number of rigs, the companies are still there. And Daleymple says North Dakota is still producing roughly the same amount of oil per day as it has over the past several months.

The federal Rural Utilities Service is providing Central Power Cooperative with a $46 million dollar loan to finance upgrades.

"The funds will be used to build 5 new substations, install 51 miles of new transmission line, and support 19 substation upgrades," said USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Lisa Mensah. "This is very exciting."

Mensah says it's rare for a loan that size to be granted to one institution. She says the needs for increased power production to serve both the agriculture and energy industries in North Dakota shows the upgrades are needed.

North Dakota's Public Service Commission is holding its Reliability Conference in Fargo.

Democratic candidates for PSC Tyler Axness and Todd Reisenauer say it is "ironic" that the PSC would hold the conference in Fargo, where several power outages have occurred as recently as this summer. Reisenauer says the meeting looks more like a "campaign event" and that electric reliability issues for Fargo residents need to be taken more seriously.

The North Dakota Industrial Commission is sending a letter to two Minnesota state agencies – over its concerns about the re-opening of a case that could add cost to coal-fired generation in North Dakota.

Senator John Hoeven says President Obama is taking the wrong approach on energy.

The President wants the federal EPA to work to reduce emissions from existing and future coal fired power plants. Hoeven (R-ND) says the President’s plan is a classic over-reach.

"It's this big-government, big-regulation approach that is going to stop investment in energy development in this country," said Hoeven. He says he continues to push for a national comprehensive energy plan – that is a “states first” plan.

Two Dickinson-area electric utilities have entered into a “service area agreement” – as to which will serve the growth areas around Dickinson.

The two are Montana-Dakota Utilities Company – an investor-owned utility – and Roughrider Electric Cooperative. Under the agreement – the two will divvy-up who serves what area where the city is expanding.

The Public Service Commission must approve the agreement. Commissioner Julie Fedorchak says the two should be commended for working out a deal.